


House Leader Appreciation Day

by mother_hearted



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Friendship, Gen, Kisses, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mother_hearted/pseuds/mother_hearted
Summary: An unusual prank seems to be making the rounds through the Golden Deer and trying as he might, Claude can’t seem to get to the bottom of it. To make matters worse, he appears to be the only victim.(Or: what’s a boy to do when all of his friends are nice to him?)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 82





	House Leader Appreciation Day

**Author's Note:**

> It's Kiss Claude day and I wanted to give him all kinds of kisses!!

Things went from the usual to ‘oh goddess what color is Linhardt’s elixir turning now’ levels of alarm when Claude was an hour into his duties as House Leader, yawns from his two hour nights sleep accompanying him like a soundtrack. Lorenz called for a meeting to help draft a letter to his father, explicitly telling him he would not be marrying the woman he chose for him. Claude arrived expecting to see Hilda, who’d already dominated the conversation yesterday, all but practically writing the letter for him with a passion to tell the old man where he could shove it as politely and ladylike as possible. 

Instead he found Lorenz hunched over a writing table, brow furrowed with lines he’d never admit were there otherwise. Apparently they’d been at it for a while already and Lorenz was done, Hilda long gone. 

But he wasn't done.

“I cannot sign it.”

“I think he’d know his own son’s handwriting.”

“That is not it, Claude! I am a man, I must take ownership of everything I do and say. I must...” And Lorenz looked at Claude, who was predictably blank faced, not giving him anything to read, but he must have projected something onto him, surely, because his shoulders slouched and he let Claude see… him. “You do not have to answer, but do you… fear your father?”

Claude’s brow ticked up. Lorenz really was shaken up. He wondered what changed, for him to tell Claude this. “Not really. He can be a scary guy but I know him well enough.” There were no secrets to earning his father’s respect. He required strength. Direct communication. The two biggest traits Claude lacked. 

He idly saw his brothers flash in his mind and quickly felt relief Lorenz did not have any, unsure if he could keep his face together, being asked about _them_ so suddenly. Uncomfortable with his own mind’s musings, he couldn’t stand watching Lorenz deliberate in silence. 

“What men who are feared hate most is when you stand up to them anyway, so you should sign it.”

Simple, the way life never was, but Lorenz was pleased by his answer and gave him a resolute nod. 

“You are right, Claude.”

“Wow,” he said, absolutely being a little shit. “Are you dying, Lorenz?” 

Lorenz clicked his tongue. “Just give me your hand, you child.”

“Last rites? Sure.”

He was well on his way to his next cheeky comment when Lorenz leaned down and pressed a kiss to his knuckle. 

Uh.

“I’m flattered?” he said in the way someone might say, ‘I’m terrified?’

“Wha… No, I am not courting you! That is the knuckle on your _other hand_. I know Professor Mannuela gave you that handbook on etiquette, actually read it won’t you?”

And before Claude could say much else, dumbfounded and staring at the spot Lorenz had kissed, Lorenz swept himself away with his sea of parchment. 

“Well, okay.”

~&~

Rather than ending with Lorenz, the oddness seemed to _start_ with him. It followed Claude to the stables where he met Marianne, soothing Dorte while supplies were strewn about all over. Apparently whoever had been on stable duty last was a tornado because the place was a mess and the logbook that would decide blame had gone missing. 

“I’m sorry, Claude… I tried to do my best but every time I would start to put something away, something else was in its place, and then I would move that, but the hooks on the walls would be--”

“Yeah, it’s okay. Let’s just drop everything in the middle and then organize it.”

“...ah.”

They worked in companionable silence, and in little under an hour everything was back in place, give or take a few creative solutions to keep all the tools together. 

“Thank you, Claude. Hilda is always telling me to do it the same way… I don’t know why I keep forgetting.” 

“Practice makes it easier. Either way, I don’t blame you, you were probably lost in Dorte’s eyes.”

She laughed, a hair’s breadth away from making audible noise. “He managed to find his inner calm despite all of the clutter around him. I’m proud of him.”

“I bet, and hey -” Claude noticed belatedly Marianne was a couple inches taller than usual. “With those boots you can see eye to eye.”

Marianne nodded, only to snap to attention. “Oh, that’s right! I am supposed to go on a ride with Ferdinand this morning. I hope I’m not too late… I’ll see you later, Claude.”

And it was business as usual, until Marianne took advantage of her new height, leaving a kiss on Claude’s forehead before darting off with Dorte. 

He stared at the stable doors, heat creeping on his face. 

~&~

In the library, after chasing down the librarian, Lysithea shoved a small box of chocolates in his hands. They were delicately crafted sweets, unsurprisingly titled, _maiden’s kiss._

In the courtyard Raphael spotted him and gave his cursory shout of Claude’s name before lifting him up into a bear hug, using all the strength he’d need just to flex his pinky. After carrying Claude to the other end of the green, he’d sneaked a kiss into the crown of his head and hurried off to the training grounds to meet Caspar.

In the knight’s hall his appraisal of the inventory with Leonie went awry when he revealed he’d never learned how to use a rapier. She launched them into a childish game after learning the basics, a fencing match that went further off the rails when a senior knight came in and scolded them for the ruckus. Leonie leapt forward to take the blame but not before wrapping an arm around Claude’s shoulders and smacking a kiss on his cheek. 

In front of the advice box in the monastery, Ignatz was taxed with delivering the student queries to Byleth but misplaced the given key. Retracing his steps, they’d eventually found it between a row of pews and collapsed in said pews to catch their breath after the long search. Ignatz’s thanks was a soft, oddly demure kiss to Claude’s temple and Claude nearly bolted out of the Cathedral. 

~&~

_Why was everyone kissing him?!_

This certainly wasn’t any Fodlan tradition, his mother and his self-study had informed him enough that noble society in particular was too prudish to do things like casually kiss. So why were they doing it and all but acting like they hadn’t? 

Claude felt jittery and nervous all day, turning over each incident, foolishly feeling like he’d fallen into someone’s trap time and time again. How could this be used against him? Misplaced trust? Another stab at his already dreadful reputation? Mental sabotage?

If it was the last one, it was working. 

If it was a prank, it was, unsurprisingly, only directed at him.

Bitter, he sat out by the pier, boots off and dragging his feet through the pond. Just when he was starting to calm down, a familiar waft of perfume appeared behind him.

“Passionfruit today, Hils?”

“You could tell from all the way over there? Ugh, I put on too much.”

“Nah, I just picked it up after you had me scent test with you last week.”

Uninvited, Hilda plopped down beside him, a yellow flower with pink inner petals held behind her ear. Claude’s walls came up, defensive and unwilling to be hurt. 

She blinked at him. “You look like a statue. A dour one. Did something happen?”

Claude knew Hilda was no better than him, saying one thing but meaning another, but leaving would expose himself… and he wanted control over this moment. (He wanted control over everything.)

“Yeah. Are you going to kiss me?”

Hilda’s nose scrunched up like someone had suggested she wear lime green hunter’s boots. 

“Uh, _no._ Are you Marianne?”

__Claude snorted. “Forget it.”_ _

__“What’s with you, Claude?”_ _

__“What’s with all of you?” He bit back, more betrayed than he realized. “What kind of scheme is it to gang up on a guy with kisses?”_ _

__“...oh my god.” Hilda covered her face with her hand, nails looking perfect. “Don’t say it like Raphael tried to make out with you.”_ _

__“He certainly could’ve carried me off to parts unknown!”_ _

__“Just stop! It’s House Leader appreciation day.”_ _

__“...what?”_ _

__“Well, not officially. For the Golden Deer it is.”_ _

__Claude said nothing, in disbelief even as heat crept back on his face._ _

__Hilda sighed, delicately sliding out the stem of the flower behind her ear and giving it a smell peck… and sliding it behind Claude’s ear instead. “You’re not very demonstrative, so we didn’t want to make a big deal about it. We appreciate you, dummy. Be appreciated!” She laughed, like it was that easy._ _

__Mortifyingly, Claude felt his eyes sting. Dry but stinging nonetheless. His throat refused to let his words out, and he settled on a stiff nod. Hilda saw through him like transparent glass and got to her feet, claiming she had a study session to avoid and she didn’t want Shamir catching her out here._ _

__Claude stared at his toes curling and uncurling in the water, feeling small and delicate like the flower sitting in his hair._ _

___Be appreciated._ _ _

__Was it really that easy?_ _

__His mind wouldn’t let him be sure, but his heart disagreed._ _

__Claude dry eyed on the outside while Khalid wept within._ _

__Clouds passed by overheard, cloaking him in shadow and leaving him cool and shivering. The temperature, he told himself, was why he was shivering. Fingers trembling. He picked himself back up, boots in hand while he walked barefoot up the stairs._ _

___Be appreciated._ _ _

__Claude’s flush bloomed again, knowing he didn’t know how…_ _

__...and wondering how to start._ _

__At dinner, he sat down among faces he slowly came to know as friends and tried not to blush._ _


End file.
